07-08-2015, 02:29 AM
Onamuji wrote:
[quote=Pam]
Your experience doesn't match reality. Families need to assess the person at risk and their capabilities which can change with time. Dementia and alzheimer's persons can be terribly confused or so deep in their psychosis that they are in another time/place. Autistic and down syndrome persons may actively try to hide or evade everyone. Most of these people will not respond to searchers calling out their name, refuse to ask for help from people who are nearby, or go up to a house and knock and ask for help. Many will wander and get into trouble without even realizing they are in trouble. It's these people who need a passive location system. A panic button would not be used. The mental capacity is not there. This is why so many police departments are partnering with Lifesaver.
For the aging parent without mental incapacity, or with early dementia/alzheimer's the PAL or other devices like you mentioned are viable options.
I see what you're saying. It should be noted that the panic button in question is a supplemental feature. The device that I mentioned is a small black box designed to fit in a pocket or in a tiny pouch that clips onto clothes to passively locate a person via GPS and a cellular connection. It's got a basic app for an iPhone-user to locate their loved ones.
The ability to see the wanderer's GPS location on your cell phone is an invaluable feature and the baseline when I started shopping.
The problem with relying on GPS is that it is less likely to work if the person is indoors, in a culvert, or in other areas where the weak satellite signal is blocked. This is one of the reasons why all sar personnel have to be top notch at navigating via topo maps and compass. Cellular signals have greatly improved with more towers but there are still a lot of blind spots. No technology is perfect, but the PLI system tops GPS and cellular for the at risk group. For other groups you'd have to weigh the location and cell strength.
